Search form

Petition Signatures at 8000!

Success of No Drilling Lethbridge’s west side campaign encourages expansion of campaign to north and south sides

Lethbridge - Local volunteer group No Drilling Lethbridge says they now have over 8000 signatures on a petition that calls on the provincial government to introduce legislation that would ban drilling for oil and gas within Lethbridge city limits. A west side door to door petition campaign organized by the group has proven successful and the group will now be expanding the campaign to the north and south sides.

"In the past two weeks the No Drilling petition volunteers have collected over 5,000 signatures in opposition to drilling in Lethbridge. The level of opposition to drilling in Lethbridge is overwhelming and very clear,” says Laurie Chinn, No Drilling Lethbridge volunteer. "We are amazed at the dedication and commitment the Lethbridge canvassers have put in. Their efforts are truly making a difference and reflected in our numbers."

Opposition has been growing daily since foreign owned oil company Goldenkey Oil announced their plans in August to drill 3 exploratory oil wells in south west Lethbridge, called the Penny Project.

“Now that we have been able to reach the majority of folks on the west side, we want to expand our campaign to the north and south sides,” says Sheila Rogers, also with No Drilling Lethbridge. “This is not just a west side issue. We are all concerned about being downwind of flaring and H2S storage and the potential contamination of our city water supply.”

No Drilling Lethbridge has extended the deadline for petition signatures to Feb. 15 and plans to have it presented in the Alberta Legislature in March.

Another local group, Writers 4 Action, has collected 200 letters of opposition to urban drilling in Lethbridge from Lethbridge residents. The letters are addressed to Premier Alison Redford and the Alberta Energy Regulator and express residents’ concerns with the risks associated with Goldenkey Oil’s proposed urban drilling project in west Lethbridge.

No Drilling Lethbridge and Writers 4 Action will present copies of the letters to MLA Greg Weadick on Friday, January 31 at 10:00am at his constituency office – 402 8th Street South. Copies will also be sent to MLA Bridget Pastoor, the Alberta Ministers of Environment, Energy, Health and Transportation, leaders of the NDP, Liberal Party of AB and Wildrose Party and the City of Lethbridge, Mayor and Council.

Lethbridge residents who are interested in volunteering in the petition drive or otherwise with No Drilling Lethbridge can sign up on line or call 587-425-1789 to receive a petition package.

About the Author

We are a small volunteer group of Lethbridge residents working to protect the health and safety of the people in Lethbridge, by being opposed to oil drilling and fracking within OUR city limits. We believe that the risks for Lethbridge greatly outweigh the benefit of acquiring the natural resource. We are not opposed to oil and gas exploration, generally. We are concerned about the negative impacts on OUR city and its residents if oil and gas drilling is allowed inside OUR city limits.